Gazing from the top to the bottom of the curtain, following the folds of the material to the floor, I suddenly gasped in horror. There, all but hidden in shadow, were the toes of two black boots. They could only belong to Father Christmas! Somehow, without me noticing him, he must have crept into the room and seeing that I was only pretending to be asleep, quickly hid behind the curtain.

Father Christmas is hiding behind the curtain’, I yelled out, while at the same time burying my head in my mother’s fleshy side. Dad’s snoring came to an abrupt halt, and in a split second I was aware that he was sitting bolt upright.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked with a slight panic in his voice. “What”s going on?’

‘He’s there – behind the curtain’, I mumbled pointing wildly in the air.

Slowly the reason for my outburst must have dawned on my dad’s befuddled brain, as he did his best to explain that what I had seen at the bottom of the curtain were just his working boots. But I was having none of it. I knew for a fact that the boots belonged to Santa, and that he was hiding in there.

I kept my eyes tight shut from that point on until I inevitably fell asleep, to dream of monsters, demons and hobgoblins wearing oversized black boots.

Christmas Eve had slipped quietly into history; for when I awoke it was Christmas Day morning. My eager gaze fell instantly upon the small assortment of coloured packages that lay at the foot of the bed. As I reached out for the largest of my presents, wrapped in bright blue paper and covered all over in jolly red Santas wearing big black boots, I looked warily across to the bottom of the recess curtain to see if the was still there. But Father Christmas had gone!

Further autobiographical stories of the 1950’s and 1960’s by Charles Moorhen:

• Not a Promising Start
  
• Boredom After Brown Gravy.
• A Double Mystery Solved.
• Reaching For The Stars
• Hop, Skip and Jump
• Meat Pie and Two Forks
• The Bread-Roll Lady Visits Our Estate

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Further church, history and railway-related articles by Charles Moorhen:

Overcome ‘Writer’s Block’ With Just One Word

Henry Bessemer’s Extravagant Attempt to Cure His Seasickness

Paper Recycling in the 1950’s

Caravan and Motorhome Dealers Directory 2011

Fall and Rise of the Great Selborne Yew Tree

Lost Medieval Church Paintings of England

Exploring The English Church

Origins of Traditional Wedding Customs

The Winding Country Lanes of England

12 Practical Tips For Safer Winter Driving

Did Charles Dickens Really Invent ‘Miss Havisham’

A Unique, Unusual and Fascinating Farm Gate

Bricked Up Heart and a Ghost in Woodford Church

The English Church: The Baptismal Font

The English Church: Exploring the English Churchyard

English Churches: Selborne Church in Hampshire

English Churches: Cheriton Church in Hampshire

English Churches: Brixworth Church in Northamptonshire

English Churches: Clifton Hampden Church in Oxfordshire

English Churches: Charwelton Church in Northamptonshire

She Became the Fastest Typist in Europe

Timothy Dexter: Emperor of America

Timothy Dexter: Farm Boy to Millionaire

The Popularity of the Railway Camping Coach

Origin of the ‘Humpty Dumpty’ Nursery Rhyme

The Tudor Origin of the ‘Mary Mary Quite Contrary’ Nursery Rhyme

The Intriguing Origin of the ‘Little Jack Horner’ Nursery Rhyme

The Great Little Brownie 127 Camera

Smith’s Crisps and the Little Blue Salt Bag

The Grisly Murder of ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’ (and the origin of the saying ‘sweet FA’)

Britain’s First Railway Murder

The Historical ‘Uffington White Horse’

London’s Unique Funeral Railway

15 Historical Railway Facts You Possibly Never Knew

Superstitions Surrounding Babies

Is This the Oldest Woolworth’s Christmas Tree In The World

Five Easy Steps to Improve Your Cycling Enjoyment

Great Little Wind-Up Radio

‘Pure White Crosses’: World War One Poem

‘Pure White Crosses’: (The Musical Version of the Poem)

‘They Made Me Stay Behind’: World War One Poem

‘I Believed You Honourable’: World War One Poem

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